About Rebecca Barnard
REBECCA BARNARD comes from a rich musical family history. She grew up listening to Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong spending a lot of time in the pubs of Melbourne and Sydney listening to her Dad’s band and eventually getting up and singing with them at the age of 13. At the age of 14 she heard Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan and became obsessed. The cross pollination of musical styles is evident in her music… especially her vocal phrasing. Rebecca spent many years in various bands refining her live performance and vocal skills. She was asked to be backing singer for Stephen Cummings as he was starting his solo career post The Sports. She went on to record and tour with Cummings for the next 10 years.
Meanwhile Rebecca started seriously focusing on songwriting and Rebecca’s Empire was born. They became one of Australia’s best loved bands releasing 3 Eps and 2 Albums, touring extensively and appearing on Triple J’s Hottest 100 albums 3 years in a row. The band disbanded in 2000 while the duties of being a mother took priority even though she still appeared regularly on other peoples recordings, specifically Paul Kelly, Billy Miller, Tim Rogers, Renee Geyer, Deb Conway, The Meanies, TISM, Kutcha Edwards, David Hosking, Warped, The Audreys, The Fauves, You Am I and many more.
In 2006 Rebecca released her first solo album FORTIFIED to critical acclaim. It was released on Rebecca’s own label Ladybird. In 2009 she received a grant from Vic Art’s and headed off to New York to record her album EVERLASTING with Jazz musician Barney McAll, an Australian and very close friend who lived and worked in NY for 15 years as Sia’s MD among many other great artists. The album was well received and one of which she is very proud.
Along with Rock legend, Billy Miller (The Ferretts), Rebecca has conducted the Singalong Society. It started in 2009 at The Caravan Music Club and is still going strong in 2021!
About Monique diMattina
Singer/songwriter, boogie-woogie barrelhouse basher, composer of crystalline piano miniatures, radio personality and in-demand session pianist, Monique diMattina’s cred as a mature and versatile artist is well deserved.
A raconteur “about us and the place we live” (The Age), possessing a “Dylanesque swagger with the Aussie vernacular“, Monique cut her teeth in New York City, recording her first album live at the famous Greenwich Village 55 Bar and playing alongside the likes of Lou Reed, Bjork and Jimmy Cobb. Since returning to Australia in 2009, diMattina has released five albums on Head records to critical acclaim, and toured her two self-penned shows An Affair to Dismember and The Dao of Dylan with Rebecca Barnard.
In her energetic live performances diMattina’s larrikin lyrics are at the fore, supported by her authoritative and soulful pianism.
About Sam Lemann
Sam Lemann is one of he founding members of the sweetest string band in town, ‘The Irwell Street String Band’ alongside the gorgeous Hetty Kate. Their first album garnered airplay on BBC Radio 4, and led them to the Wangaratta and Melbourne Jazz Festivals among many others. With a shared love of swing music and pretty songs, they have appeared on almost 100 albums between them, and have performed in all four corners of the world.
